UK minister says devastating humanitarian crisis in Gaza 'unfolding before our very eyes'

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Britain's minister for the Middle East pointed to the “growing humanitarian crisis" in the Gaza Strip in remarks before the House of Lords on Thursday, saying the suffering is unfolding "before our very eyes."

"What is very clear (is that) ordinary people are suffering. Palestinian civilians are facing a devastating and growing humanitarian crisis. Indeed, it's unfolding before our very eyes," Lord Ahmad told those present.

His remarks came following a debate in the House on the current humanitarian situation in Gaza, where the lords exchanged views and asked the minister questions.

Baroness Hussein-Ece reminded that more than 27,000 people have been killed in Israeli attacks and compared to the number of Israelis killed on Oct. 7, she said it is at least 20 times higher and more than 200 times as many children.

"The death toll in 17 weeks (in Gaza) is 15 times the rate of the killing of civilians in Ukraine in over 18 months," she noted.

She cited UN data showing that around 100,000 people in Gaza have been killed, injured or missing, adding that Israel continues to press forward with what has become "one of the most destructive military campaigns in modern history."

She noted that "70% of those killed are women and children. Although Israel says it avoids civilian casualties, 12,000 children have been killed. That's 136 children killed per day."

Highlighting that a quarter of the total population in the besieged enclave is suffering from a "catastrophic famine," she stressed that this is a "man-made famine."

"The Israeli government is using the starvation of civilians as a weapon of war, which is a war crime," she added.

Defining the Israeli attacks as "truly sadistic crimes" that no one can ever justify, she said that it is nothing to do with eliminating Hamas.

Saying that nowhere could be more occupied than Gaza right now, she asked whether the government will increase pressure on Israel to comply with international humanitarian law.

As the UK is one of the countries that has suspended funding to the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency, or UNRWA, over Israeli allegations, she also asked whether the government has requested evidence from Israel in support of them.

Several countries suspended funding to UNRWA after Israel alleged that some of the agency's employees were involved in the cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7.

UNRWA warned Thursday that it will halt its operations within weeks if international funding remains suspended.

- 'Gazan children are innocent'

Lord Pannick said Gaza has received billions of dollars in aid over the past few decades and claimed the money has not been used to improve Gaza, but "most of it has been used on building tunnels and on attacking Israel."

He also asserted that if Gaza were no longer to be used as a military base for attacking Israel, there would be no war in the Strip.

The Lord Bishop of Norwich touched on the urgent need for medical staff, fuel, food and critical medical supplies and asked whether the government will press Israel to allow sustained access to resupply hospitals across the Gaza Strip.

Lord Wood of Anfield also cited the cutting of funds to UNRWA, saying: "Did the UK government see any direct evidence provided by the Israeli government?"

Criticizing the decision, he also questioned why the UK suspended funding before waiting for the conclusion of the investigation.

Addressing the situation in Gaza, Lord Austin claimed that it is not Israel that is responsible for the terrible situation in Gaza but Hamas.

He asserted that the only way to improve the situation in Gaza is "for Hamas to stop the terror attacks...and accept Israel's right to exist."

Baroness Helic pointed to the child casualties and the dire situation children face and said that "Gaza children are innocent."

"They are the future of the Palestinian state," she noted.

- 'We need genuine momentum towards permanent peace'

At the end of the debate, Lord Ahmad said they want to ensure that any resumption of funding is based on the condition that such individuals cannot work for UNRWA again.

He said it damages not just the organization "but the UN as a whole."

Reiterating the worsening situation in Gaza, he noted that 1.7 million people are internally displaced, while more than 1 million people --over half of Gaza's population -- are packed into the southern region of Rafah, which previously had a population of just 280,000.

"Nine out of 10 people in Gaza may be living on less than a meal a day," he said, citing the World Food Program, adding that only 14 of 36 hospitals are partially functional without enough specialized staff.

On the cutting off of basic services, he noted that they raised the issue directly with Israel, saying there is a desperate need for increased humanitarian support in the besieged enclave.

"We are all working intensively to address the blockages," said Ahmad, reiterating the UK's position that they are calling for an "immediate pause to get more aid in and hostages out."

Ahmad noted that the UK wants to turn this pause into a "specific, sustainable permanent cease-fire."

"We need a genuine momentum towards permanent peace," he added.

Last month, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an interim order demanding that Israel stop obstructing aid deliveries into Gaza and improve the humanitarian situation in the enclave following a lawsuit by South Africa accusing Tel Aviv of committing genocide.

Israel has pounded Gaza since a cross-border attack by Hamas in October, which Tel Aviv said killed nearly 1,200 people.

At least 27,840 Palestinians have since been killed and 67,317 others injured in the Israeli onslaught, according to local health authorities.